After the game, the atmosphere in the Clippers locker room was very solemn.
The highly anticipated and anticipated Clippers' first playoff game of the 2012 season was unexpectedly won by the Spurs.
The NBA playoffs are so different from the regular season, which is very unfair in a certain sense.
In a seven-game series, the team with the better regular season record just has an extra home court.
Although in a close matchup, home field advantage may determine the outcome of the final series.
But the side that plays at home first also faces tremendous pressure.
Once the first two home games are lost, it means handing over the home field advantage to others.
The second home game must be defended, otherwise the series will become very difficult when going to the away game with a 0:2 disadvantage.
The Spurs have always been a team that plays pigs and eats tigers. Under the leadership of Popovich, the Spurs have always operated smoothly in the regular season and rarely rush and fight.
In a normal season, they are ranked first in the league and have the potential to win 60 games, but they usually have reservations in order to stay in the playoffs.
Especially in the past two years, the GDP trio is getting older and more troubled by injuries. In the regular season, they just take it as they can.
This year, due to poor recruitment and a shortened season, Popovich stopped playing in the regular season and allowed several veterans to rest more.
In fact, in terms of strength, among the teams in the lower half, the Spurs are definitely very strong.
In the last few games of the first round, the Spurs clearly had a chance to rush to sixth or even fifth position, but they stayed in seventh just to get revenge against the Clippers.
Facing the Spurs, who were bent on revenge and carefully prepared, the Clippers were obviously not fully prepared, and there were also problems with scheduling during the game.
Tyronn Lue and Steve Kerr had different opinions, and the tactical arrangements on the court were quite confusing without a real focus.
Randolph's inside attack at the beginning was anticipated by the Spurs. Later, they hoped to use Jeremy Lin to set the pace, but failed. Jeremy Lin was immediately put on the bench and never played again.
Curry and Harden, the two offensive engines, are not in their best form.
The dog-fighting spirit of the previous two seasons was gone. Instead, the aging Spurs were aggressive and defeated the Clippers in an avenging manner, teaching the young Clippers a lesson.
When Min Congda entered the locker room, everyone didn't talk much and sat in their seats quietly sorting things.
The reporters' interview had just ended, and everyone was quite depressed. However, when Min Congda came in, everyone felt better.
Because every time he loses, Mr. Smart will comfort everyone and tell everyone to relax and not care too much about winning or losing.
But this time the situation seemed a little different. Min Congda's expression was equally solemn and his brows were furrowed.
Can he not be solemn? He is not happy at all when he loses tonight.
Mrs. Sterling just said in the VIP box that if the Clippers' record is too bad, such as being eliminated in the first round or failing in the semifinals, then financial institutions are unlikely to lend money to the Clippers to build a new arena.
Yes, the key to a team's profitability depends on its record. Only if the record is good can it get traffic and attention, and can it have high box office and related endorsements and peripheral income. Only then can it have enough cash flow and profit to cover future debt and interest. .
Financial institutions are not philanthropic. If you want to shoulder huge debts, you must first have the ability to bear debts.
Min Congda remembers that companies that went bankrupt due to excessive debt initially appeared to be well-run and had a bright future.
It is a pity that it was unable to withstand various factors such as changes in the industry situation, changes in the trend of the times, black swan events, self-destruction by the operators, etc., and the company turned from a star company to a debt-ridden old man, and even went bankrupt.
Now if you want the "Afanggong Project" to run smoothly, you must make the Clippers look promising.
Judging from their performance in the previous two seasons, the Clippers have potential.
This season, the potential needs to be realized in the playoffs.
Otherwise, with the second regular season result in the Western Conference, the playoff performance is not as good as the eighth period in the Western Conference, which is unjustifiable in any case.
Everyone soon realized that Mr. Smart was different tonight than usual. He didn't look very happy after losing.
"As a fan who watched the entire game from the sidelines, I'm ashamed of your performance tonight."
Min Congda stood in the middle of the locker room and criticized the Clippers' entire team's performance in a rare moment.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and lowered their heads to listen.
"I know that the team is in a difficult period now. Because of a recording, everyone's attention is not on basketball, but on other things. But we must be clear that these are only temporary, Clippers We are a basketball team, and our fundamental goal is to win and go one step further! When you step onto the court, all your thoughts and thoughts must be on basketball. The coaching staff must carefully formulate tactics, and the players must implement them with all their strength. Go and win the game, this is the best response to external public opinion!"
“After what happened, I didn’t say anything and everyone stayed silent because we are a united team that always puts the team’s interests first and will not do anything outrageous just to express our personal ideas. , say some outrageous words. We are low-key, strong, full of vitality, and have incredible energy! But I didn’t see any of these things tonight. Where are you spending your thoughts? Stephen? James? Zach? Mark? Paul? Jamie? Everyone, I mean everyone, tomorrow, find time to watch tonight's game video carefully, find out where the problem is, see how bad you played on the court, and then prepare for the next One game to get ready for.”
“The series isn’t over yet, our journey this year has just begun.”
Min Congda's tone was calm, but every word he spoke spoke to the hearts of the entire Clippers team.
Min Congda never feeds the players chicken soup, and always looks relaxed and hip-hop.
Winning is hard, losing is easy.
As a result, it suddenly happened, and the effect was quite significant.
A sense of shame permeated the team, followed by a strong desire for the next victory.
If a person yells in front of the players every day, asking everyone to cheer up and win the game, it may be effective for a while.
But as time goes by, anyone will become numb and tired, and the chicken soup will always get boring.
Min Congda usually looked like he didn't care whether he won or lost, but suddenly he made such a strong impression.
Everyone knows that this game cannot be lost, it must be won!
In addition to encouraging the team's morale, Min Congda also personally attended the team's coaching staff meeting the next day.
Since handing over the coach to Lu, Min Congda has not participated in the team's tactical meetings, daily training and construction for a long time.
Arriving at the familiar conference room, Min Congda consciously sat in the head coach's chair, and then asked the video analyst to take out the video of yesterday's game and play it.
For Tyronn Lue and Kerr, this was tantamount to a public execution.
"The opening tactical arrangement failed."
"Replacements and hesitation in hiring people in the middle period."
“There were no adjustments in the third quarter.”
"In the decisive moment of the fourth quarter, there is no fantastic strategy at all?"
"What are you using so many capable players on the bench? To rack up points in the regular season, but you won't be using any of them in the playoffs?"
Min Congda scolded him, saying that no one on the Clippers coaching staff dared to speak out.
After all, Min Congda is a winning coach, and his coaching level is obvious to all.
Tyronn Lue was very good in the regular season. His looseness and freedom gave the players many opportunities to practice and improve.
But when it comes to a targeted moment like the playoffs, when every game is fatal, a leader must stand up and set the tone.
Tyronn Lue and Steve Kerr are evenly matched, and Min Congda is the one who can take the lead at this time.
For Min Congda, losing is a difficult thing, but if you let him win, then he really understands.
"The combination of Duncan + Split is very defensive. Don't go head-to-head with them. We must make good use of our outside advantages, especially the advantages of the forwards. We have so many forward resources, why not use them? George, Leonard Germany, Ricky Davis, Butler, we have to play smart rather than hard."
"The mid-range must be developed. We also have mid-range experts. Don't just think about shooting three-pointers in the playoffs. Randolph, Curry, and especially Harden can attack opponents in the mid-range. Players must be flexible. We need to use our abilities to target the Spurs' defensive loopholes. Don't make the tactics too complicated, as our players have good personal abilities."
Min Congda knows that it is not a good idea to fight head-on or play strategies with the Spurs.
Popovich is cunning and cunning, and if you follow his lead and play tricks, the series will inevitably get entangled.
On the contrary, using the players' talents and personal abilities, through some small coordination, to hit the snake seven inches away can achieve very good results.
It's like Kobe's Lakers playing against the Spurs. You can come in any direction, but I'll only go all the way and kill you from the mid-range, leaving you helpless.
The Spurs now have aging members, a shortage of forward manpower at the third position, and defense at the second and third positions is a big problem.
"James Harden must perform in this series. He is the most difficult player for the Spurs to target. Harden must become the core figure. Of course, Curry is also very important. He is the basis for most of the team's tactics. In short , Harden wants to be a sharp knife, this is his positioning. Curry, let him continue to maintain the threat of outside firepower, appropriately reduce Curry's ball-holding attacks, and increase his off-ball. At the critical moment, the inside line has the final say. Reasonably allocate Zach's playing time, and use Bonner appropriately. He came from the Spurs, and he must have his own ideas against the Spurs."
Min Congda then made a strategic overall arrangement.
It established Harden's status as an important role and made him the Clippers' sharp outside figure.
The Spurs' biggest sufferer in the Western Conference was Kobe Bryant.
Kobe's mid-range jumper killed the Spurs.
Although Harden does not have as strong an offensive power as Kobe, his explosive scoring power is still quite outstanding.
And the technology is comprehensive, breakthrough, mid-range, and three-pointers are all developed better and better.
Once the arrangements are made, the rest is up to the coaching staff to execute, hold meetings with the players and assign tasks.
Min Congda was sitting alone in the conference room and suddenly began to reflect on his selection and operations in the past two years.
"Oops, it's really bad. I have to admit it. I actually created a pretty good lineup without knowing it. Curry and Harden are all very good players. Gasol, Randolph, George , are also very strong, and they still have potential that can be tapped. What a failure."
In the past, Min Congda always lied to himself, thinking that Curry was brittle, Harden was lazy, Kawhi was stupid, Randolph was bad, George was soft, Leonard was stiff, and Butler was ugly.
Now he changes his position and stands from the perspective of wanting to win. Putting aside his subjective prejudices, he will find that Curry is accurate, Harden is perfect, Garcon, Randolph is stable, George Lin, Leonard is poisonous, and Butler is tough. .
He finally admitted that his three-year lineup-building plan was a complete failure!
But that's fine, Min Congda thought to himself: "Fortunately, I have changed my mind now and let the Clippers achieve good results and then have high debt. Once the Clippers collapse in the future, the debt will crush the team!"
"However, I really can't interfere in the future of the team. Let Olshey and Rosser do the tossing. I have such bad luck. Whoever I choose is bullshit. I would be really lucky if I didn't use it to buy lottery tickets. Pity."
Min Congda once again reminded himself that he decided not to participate in the team building or to interfere with the details of transactions and drafts.
Invest with peace of mind, expand the size of the team with peace of mind, let the team be heavily in debt, and wait for the moment when the building collapses.
One day later, the Clippers and the Spurs ushered in a second battle. This game was crucial for the Clippers.
In other playoff games, in the top half of the Eastern and Western Conferences, all the strong teams except the Clippers won.
The Lakers easily defeated the Mavericks, and they are aiming for a sweep in this series.
The Nuggets and Thunder also ushered in a revenge game, and this time the Thunder still won.
In the East, the Cavaliers, Celtics, Heat, and Bulls all defeated their opponents.
The Cavaliers easily defeated the Knicks, the Bulls defeated the Magic, the Heat won the Pacers, and the Celtics narrowly defeated the Hawks.
It can be seen that this year's Eastern Conference, like last year, will be another season where these four teams compete against each other.
The thieves' Heat once again ranked third in the Eastern Conference and continued to pick the Bulls in the second round.
The Cavaliers will once again face off against the Celtics in the semifinals.
The four parties' grievances and grievances last season must be understood again this season.
It can be said that this season's shortened playoffs are a continuation of last season's grudge game.
The Spurs, who took the lead in the first game, stayed the same in this game to cope with the changes. Popovich waited for the Clippers to make adjustments.
The starting lineups of both sides remained unchanged. During the jump ball, Gasol was the first to touch the ball.
The Clippers' first offense did not hit Randolph, but Curry held the ball in a high position and used continuous screens to kill the basket.
The Spurs' defensive formation at the beginning was very good. Duncan helped defend well. Curry had no chance to take the ball and came around with the ball. He passed the ball to Harden and then immediately crossed the baseline and ran back to the bottom corner to take away the defense.
Harden caught the ball and immediately broke into the basket with the ball from the wing. Facing Duncan's defense, he made a throw and scored two points!
Duncan first helps defend Curry, then comes to defend Harden, and he also has to watch out for Gasol's alley-oop from behind. He is tired enough.
At the same time, Curry made a three-pointer from the bottom corner, and George had a chance to catch the ball and break through at a 45-degree angle on the right.
The Clippers' first attack at the beginning showed their diversity and richness in tactical choices.
This is the scariest thing about the Clippers. There are too many choices and you can't target them.
The problem with the Clippers in the first game is that no matter how many choices there are, you must have a prominent focus.
The Clippers focused on the wrong thing. Using the low post to attack the Spurs inside and challenge Duncan was not a good choice.
On the contrary, in the beginning, Curry and Harden continued to intersperse, break through and run, allowing Duncan to move. This was the right choice.
Popovich looked at the Clippers' first offense and thought, this game must be difficult.
After all, it is too difficult for Xigou to win two games in a row at the opponent's home court.
It's not easy to steal a victory.
With this mentality, Popovich has already begun to figure out how to play the third game in San Antonio.
(End of chapter)
